Home runs lift Male over Holy Cross

A highly anticipated top-five softball matchup took place on Dixie Highway, with #1 Male defeating #4 Holy Cross 5-1 on Thursday evening. In a game where only five hits were recorded, both pitchers threw impressive games.

“We competed well”, Holy Cross head coach Tony Young said. “They were the better team tonight…we’d love to have the opportunity to play them again in the state title game.”

Megan Konermann’s 2-run home run in the top of the first put Male out in front. However, she was not finished. In the third, she would send another over the fence.

Holy Cross showed a little life of their own, early in the game as Amber Kaufman drove home Maddie Wilson to put the Cougars on the board.

The Lady Bulldogs held a 3-1 lead going into the top of the sixth, with Konermann due up. Initially, It looked as if she had claimed her third home run of the evening, but leftfielder Maddie Emerson had other plans as she caught the ball right at the fence, denying Konermann her trot around the bases.

Jaelyn Sanders hit a 2-run homer of her own, to extend the Male lead to 5-1, and that went on to be final.

Despite the loss, Carson Goatley only gave up three hits in the circle tonight for Holy Cross, and struck out eight.

“She (Goatley) did really well tonight and only gave up three hits ”, Young explained.

“I knew from the start that they were a great hitting team, I had so much respect for them”, Goatley said, “I just tried to hit my spots. I knew my defense was behind me and they did a great job tonight.”

On the other end, Kelsie Houchens gave up two hits and struck out six. Konermann led the offensive attack, going 2-for-3 with two home runs.

Male moves to 19-0 and will travel to Ballard on Tuesday for a key 7th region matchup.

Holy Cross drops to 24-2, snapping their 17 game winning streak. They will look to bounce back on Monday when they host North Bullitt.

Thursday night marked the Cougars’ ninth game in five days. To Young’s relief, the Owensboro Catholic tournament got cancelled for this weekend, giving Holy Cross some much needed rest. “We’ve got tired arms and tired legs”, Young said, discussing the after-effects of the All “A” state tournament.

The opportunity to use fatigue and exhaustion as an excuse is always present in sports, but not for Holy Cross. As Goatley explains, the team embraces challenges and increased adversity. “Being torn down and pushing through all of the pain only makes you tougher mentally”, she said.